You're a Virtual Assistant? What's That?

When I tell people that I am a Virtual Assistant, they look at me like I have 2 heads. I then try to explain that a Virtual Assistant is like an Administrative Assistant working from home. Then they kind of snicker.
I am trying not to say "work at home". When people hear this they think of someone sitting in their pajamas, watching the soaps, and working at the same time. Now this may be true of some people, I am pretty sure it is not the norm. When I work at home I still have to get up and get dressed and go to work. I just don't have as far to go.
The next question they have is, "Well, what exactly do you do?" This is where I have the most problem. I tell them that the clients I have had in the past have had me doing everything from formatting books for printing to sending e-mails. Some people still don't get it. They seem to have in their minds a picture of Homer Simpson from the episode where he gained so much weight that he HAD to stay home and work.

Well, I am still working on my "definition" of a Virtual Assistant that I can quickly and easily give to people when I want them to understand what I do. It's great the industry is getting coverage in magazines such as "Reader's Digest", in newspapers and TV news. It will definitely make it easier to explain as people become more aware of what a Virtual Assistant is.